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Cambodian villagers fear US$43 million tiger reintroduction plan

Pan Sok still remembers his relative screaming as a tiger dragged him away one night, deep inside the Cambodian rainforest where they were tapping trees…

By Samantha Johnson / July 11, 2026

Pan Sok still remembers his relative screaming as a tiger dragged him away one night, deep inside the Cambodian rainforest where they were tapping trees for resin.

So he is “not happy” about a plan to reintroduce the big cats, a decade after they were declared extinct in Cambodia.

“I saw the tiger take him with my own eyes,” he said, describing the attack that took place over 30 years ago. “He was screaming but we couldn’t help him.”

Cambodia’s last confirmed tiger sighting was in camera trap footage from 2007, but conservationists say they may soon be able to reintroduce the big cats.

The plan would see India send several of its more than 3,600 tigers to southwest Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains, a protected expanse of lush rainforest stretching over a million hectares.
A tiger’s head made out of rice by Tom Kim Eng, a Cambodian artist also known as Aisha, who creates art from rice grains. Photo: Reuters
A tiger’s head made out of rice by Tom Kim Eng, a Cambodian artist also known as Aisha, who creates art from rice grains. Photo: Reuters

Reintroducing tigers could help protect Cambodia’s landscapes, restore an iconic apex predator and even boost tourism, said Jimmy Borah of Indian environmental group Aaranyak, who serves as a consultant to Cambodia’s government on the reintroduction.

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